Landmark Second Circuit Ruling Clarifies the Standards for Mobile Contracts
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a landmark ruling in Meyer v. Kalanick that clarifies the standards for contract formation in the age of smartphones and mobile contracting, providing important guidance to companies about how to design enforceable mobile contracts, reports Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass.
The court applied California law to determine the enforceability of the arbitration clause in Uber’s Terms of Service, holding that a “reasonably prudent smartphone user” unambiguously assents to a conspicuously hyperlinked contract when he downloads a smartphone application to his mobile phone and signs up for an account.
“Now is a good time for businesses to review their online and mobile contracting practices,” according to the article by Timothy Crudo, Rees Morgan, Skye Langs, and Mark Hejinian. Make sure that your terms and conditions are highly visible on an uncluttered page or screen.”